


Battle With the Beast

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 05:58:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16907409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dwalin is a rough and tough kind of guy.  But after everything he has been through, he is bound to develop some special quirks. One that Ori is about to find out.





	Battle With the Beast

Dwalin enjoyed his solitude.  He didn’t like being around a bunch of people who just wanted to make small talk, take up his time with trivial things.  He had more important things to do, trainings to plan, people to teach, guarding to be done, that sort of thing.  And everyone knew this about the warrior, getting out of his way when he stalked down a hallway, or simply staying quiet if they ever were walking next to him.

 

But as one young scribe was about to find out, there was more to Dwalin than just being tough and fearless…because there was something that Dwalin feared.

 

Dwalin knew it was an irrational fear, but after everything that had happened, he was bound to have something pop up in his mind as strange, and this was it.  He kept his secret well hidden, for years now he had done it, but after the events of the journey to Erebor, it had gotten worse.  Especially after…his body shuddered at the thought.  He couldn’t even think about it without his blood going cold and his heart rate skyrocketing. 

 

But the bad thing about a secret is that they eventually come to light, no matter how hard you try, they eventually rear their ugly head.  And for Dwalin, that rearing was going to take place in the halls of Erebor…

 

000

 

Ori sat at the table in the library as he tried to go through and see the condition of all the books.  The library had been destroyed in Smaug’s attack, but luckily, many of the books had survived.  Now it was his job to go through and get rid of the ones that couldn’t be saved, reprint or rebind those that were damaged, and catalog and re-shelve those that weren’t.  It was a lot of work to be done, and it was hard work, but there was nowhere else he would rather be.

 

He hummed a tune as he worked, enjoying the solitude of his job when he heard it.

 

“MAHAL’S BALD BALLS IT JUMPS!”  Ori’s head shot up as he looked towards the door, quickly taking off at a run towards whoever was in distress, running even faster as he heard them whimper.  “No!  No!  STAY AWAY!” 

 

Ori was quick to push open the door, throwing his weight against it as he drew out a dagger his brother had given him, turning towards the sound of the person in distress.

 

It was Dwalin.  Ori was in a state of shock as he looked to the warrior.  His eyes were wide, sweat was pooling over his forehead as his wide eyes locked onto something.  Dwalin was even mumbling, still whimpering out begging phrase ‘stay away’ as he tried to shrink back into the corner of the hall. 

 

“Mister Dwalin?”  Ori asked.  Dwalin looked up, desperate, as he heard another voice join him.

 

“Kill it!”  Dwalin screamed.

 

“What?”

 

“Kill it!  I-I tried…but, but, but it jumped!  BY MAHAL’S BEARD IT JUMPED!” 

 

Ori looked around the hall, but couldn’t see anything.  He expected something like a warg or a troll, but truly, there was nothing.  He looked back to Dwalin, trying to understand.  He reached out to the warrior.  “Mister Dwalin, what are you talking ab-“

 

“The spider!  That damned spider! Kill it!”  Dwalin pleaded. 

 

It was then Ori turned his attention to the floor.  There, in the middle of the floor was a small spider, barely the size of fingernail with its legs all sprawled out.  The small black creature shifted a bit, moving just an inch, but it was enough to send Dwalin scrambling back, trying to get further into the corner and away from it. 

 

Ori couldn’t believe it.  A little spider was doing this to Mister Dwalin?  But nevertheless, he stepped forward, quickly covering the creature with his hands before scooping it up. 

 

“Wh-why are you touching it?!” 

 

“I don’t want to kill it.”  Ori pleaded.  He actually rather liked spiders, especially in his library, they ate all of the other disgusting bugs he didn’t want in there.  Moths especially.  “But I’ll get rid of it.”  Ori quickly darted back down the short way of the hallway and into the library.  He knew exactly where he wanted to put it, there space in the back that had already been restored, so he released the small little creature back there. 

 

He waited with an open hand as the spider slowly crawled off his finger and onto the wooden shelf.  “Now you stay away from Mister Dwalin.”  He said sternly to the spider, as if he could command the little creature, then quickly made to return to Dwalin. 

 

The warrior was still in his corner, waiting for Ori to return.  “Is it gone?!”

 

“Yes, Mister Dwalin.  It is gone.”  Dwalin let his body deflate after that, taking deep breaths of air.  Ori just stood in silence.  He still couldn’t believe Dwalin was scared of spiders, scared in general.  He didn’t think Dwalin was ever scared of anything, but now that he knew, he felt it made his friend a bit more personable.

 

Of course, Dwalin had some choice words for Ori after he had calmed down, demanding he tell no one of this incident.  He even pushed out his chest and then continued his storm down the hallway, as if nothing had ever happened. 

 

But it had, and neither party forgot it, especially when a guard summoned Ori a few weeks later, saying Mister Dwalin insisted he come at once.  It was pretty late, but Ori simply followed as the guard led him to Dwalin’s personal chambers, where he was standing outside with his arms crossed over his chest, a serious look on his face.

 

“Yer dismissed.”  Dwalin said to the guard, waiting until he was out of earshot before he leaned down to Ori.  “It’s on the wall by my wardrobe.  Could you…?”

 

“Of course, Mister Dwalin.”  And in walked shy little Ori to save Dwalin, greatest warrior of Erebor, from the spider scourge that plagued him.   


End file.
